EXPERIENCE

“What are you looking for in a new hire?” I’m frequently asked in the small university town I currently live in when inquiring about hiring students.

“Give me someone curious with good taste, who can write well and can figure out things on the Internet and I’ll teach them the rest.” I’ll respond.

These are the common threads that have fueled a career that has spanned two decades to deliver what a people are now starting to call a “Full Stack Marketer.” From top NYC ad agencies to startups, to my own ventures, I’ve held roles spanning creative, strategy, marketing and business development. It’s my belief this is the future of marketing: thoroughly cross-trained individuals with a bias towards action. You don’t need more people – just better people.

1988

After blowing off homework for the entire first semester of high school, I liberate my report card from the mailbox. My first venture into graphic design is making my own.

1988

Though my report card is much better designed than the real one, my lack of personal branding undermines me when my parents fail to believe I really aced all my classes.

1988

Part of my punishment is to help mom at work during school vacations. I find her job a total snore (media planning) and meander into the art department.

1988

A young art director takes me under his wing and teaches me how to use a stat camera and press type to create ad mechanicals. I’m thrilled with seeing my work in print the next day and hooked on advertising for life.

press type

1989

The agency gets its first Mac computers. I quickly teach myself how to use the programs to start an underground newspaper in high school.

1991

Still not getting good grades, my school ships me off to a trade school for half the day to learn advertising art.

1991

I wind up teaching the advertising art teacher how to use a Mac, and spend my time as the in-house agency for the school and teachers instead of having to do assignments.

1992

I’m accepted to The School of Visual Arts but can’t afford it. I decide to get a job doing Mac production until I figure things out. Take a job putting together supermarket circulars on Long Island at night while I wait to graduate high school.

1992

Graduate from high school and start a punk rock music magazine called Isotope, which later merges with a larger one to become the biggest free punk rock magazine on the east coast, supported by dozens of record label ads. Several indie record labels advertise and we interview a who’s who of famous bands.

1995

After three years toiling away in Long Island sweat shops, I get back in touch with the art director who mentored me at my mom’s agency. From his job at Mad Dogs & Englishmen, he tells me I’m funny and should be an “advertising creative” and stop doing this menial layout stuff.

1995

I find a recruiter in NYC willing to work with a 20 year old with no college diploma, who places me at a pharma agency production department doing small changes to Tylenol ads. My recruiter is nervous, calls my supervisor to see how I’m doing and they tell her I’m the fastest person they’ve ever had. She sends me to work in the production department at BBDO.

1996

Promoted to junior art director at BBDO working on Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, HBO, Visa, Pizza Hut and many other large clients.

1997

The Internet becomes popular and I’ve already been online in some form since 1992. I create the first ever web banners for Fed Ex and advise on the web development of M&Ms’ first website.

1997

After two years of endlessly long hours having a hand in the storyboards and props for 30% of the Super Bowl commercials, I leave advertising to design characters for the Emmy Award winning season of Nickelodeon’s Blue Clues.

1998

Joined my former BBDO creative director at Ammirati Puris Lintas as an art director, working on campaigns for UPS, Labatt’s, Dos Equis, RCA and GMC.

1998

A poster project UPS forgot about gives my partner and I an hour to come up with an idea. It wins Silver at the International ADDY Awards.

1999

After selling my fair share of headlines, I become a hybrid art director/copywriter. Recruiters don’t know what to do with me. 18 years later this is totally normal. I join a small agency working on RC Cola, Tracfone, Crain’s New York Business and InStyle Magazine.

2000

Become one of the first art directors at Brand Buzz, an agency form under the Y&R umbrella to integrate the creative process of the entire agency network. I work on concepts for Sony Wega, Toblerone, KFC and Colgate.

2002

Taking a break from NYC, I join a small agency in Western Massachusetts, working on Spalding, Polar Beverages and many local accounts, winning multiple regional ADDY awards and have work featured in the PRINT Regional Design Issue.

2004

Working with a company developing customized social network software, I founded Adholes. Adholes was an irreverent social network for advertising creatives and for many people in the business, the first one they ever logged into. Over six years, I growth hacked the site on a tiny budget to 10,000+ users, 20 worldwide chapters and hundreds of networking events. It was relaunched as a Slack community in 2016.

2004

2005

2005

Joined Snap Marketing, an independent experiential marketing agency as creative director. Led a rebrand of the agency to ESCALATE. Collaborated with the President on all new business pitches. Created award winning campaigns for Coke Zero, Mercury, Condé Nast, Royal Caribbean, The Royal Bank of Canada and several other major brands.

2013

Merged Half Fiction with Catch-24. Started the strategy department. Pitched and won the consolidated Casio social media account across all brands as well as Sermo. Worked on digital strategy for Lufthansa, DirecTV, The New York Yankees and Oracle.

2014

Joined DiMassimo Goldstein as a the Head of Growth strategy. Worked with the CEO to rebrand the agency while heading up digital on all agency accounts including Reader’s Digest, TradeStation, Fresh Direct, Hello Fresh and Mediacom. Responsible for responding to RFIs and RFPs and creating the agency’s inbound marketing practice.

2015

Move to Florida and created a marketing collective called MGC Solutions, working with early to mid-stage startups and growth brands across the world.